Fashion / sustainable fashion
A million and one fashion designs
Pattern cutter and fashion designer Candace Miller has created a unique clothing label that recreates vintage shapes in modern fabrics for her fashion brand 1000001.
Pronounced ‘a million and one’, the fashion label features short runs of tailored and bespoke garments with reworked and upcycled pieces too.
“All the collections are on very small runs, maybe six pieces made in each style only, so once it’s sold it’s sold,” says Candace. “I use modern fabrics including neoprene and animal prints to recreate vintage styles with a modern twist.”
is needed now More than ever
Katie Karnif from That Thing wears the fauna print neoprene cape £75 by 1000001
Originally from New Zealand, Candace learnt her trade in the film industry, as a pattern drafter for Universal Pictures where she worked on projects including Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules the Legendary Journeys.
Mother-of-two Candace first came to England for work and said that she “just loved it”. She said: “I moved here almost instantly, that was 22 years ago. I lived in London for a while, then I fell in love with Bristol on a passing trip through the city and moved here in 2016!
“I just love the Bristol fashion scene, it’s absolutely wild, colourful and fun and everyone is very individual, it’s a lot of fun here!”
Gold lurex print top £40 and the limited edition fauna neoprene cape £75 both by 1000001 and available at That Thing
The 1000001 capsule collection at That Thing (left) and fashion designer Candace Miller holding the leopard print t-shirt dress £60
Based in Brislington, where she works from her cheese wedge-shaped studio in the basement of her family home, Candace creates her slow fashion collections of luxe streetwear that feature voluminous tops, bodycon pencil skirts, reworked vintage capes made from neoprene fabrics and lycra hotpants.
“I usually use end of line fabrics,” explains Candace. “That’s why there are only a few items made, sometimes it may only be one piece from a certain fabric. One of my capes with the fauna and animals on, that’s a limited piece due to the small amount of fabric that was available. It’s all handmade by me, so it’s a labour of love, the work ticks through, creating small sustainable runs.”
The luxe marble print cape £75 reworked from vintage patterns and matching hotpants £25 are perfect for a night out, pair yours with a glittery top and heels.
Candace Miller designer and founder of the sustainable fashion label 1000001
The current capsule collection features this season’s hottest look: animal print. From snakeskin to leopard these prints are emblazoned on tailored tops with matching hot-pants, t-shirt dresses and pencil skirts.
The colour palette works around monochrome, golds, greens and blues with a candy pink accent on tasselled trims adding that Bristol festival vibe to batwing t-shirts.
The blurred graphic mesh fabrics and inky marble prints add great texture to the range and those super tactile neoprene capes bring a reworked 1950s vintage pattern bang up to date in modern fabrics. This 1000001 fashion collection will work for the Christmas party season right through to festival time.
Super sassy hotpants by 1000001 £25 each.
As the label grows, Candace says she would like to start producing her own printed fabrics, more tailored to the brand and offering a collection that is unique and new.
“Supporting slow fashion is the big thing for me,” Candace says. “It’s very important in this day and age, I am working to improve on that.”
As well as running the 1000001 fashion label, Candace also works as a freelance sampler for high street fashion stores including Next, M&S and Gap. With London fashion house Burberry added to an already impressive experience of work, Candace is certainly in a position to make a reputable name for herself as a talented fashion designer.
The voluminous leopard print top £40 by 1000001 is versatile and can be dressed up to party or down with jeans and trainers.
The AW18 collection by 1000001 is exclusively available from Bristol’s biggest supporter and platform for independent fashion designers, That Thing on Stokes Croft, with prices ranging from £25 for the hotpants, tops from £38 and those fabulous capes for £75.
Read more: Weft Clothing pops up with vintage menswear at Friendly Records
Read our fashion editor Emma’s blog No Debutante at no-debutante.blogspot.com
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